Traffic signal



ct. 21, 1941. J, H, PARKER, JR 2,260,231

TRAFFIC S I GNAL Filed Aug. 8, 1940` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 TRAFFIC SIGNAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIII Filed Aug. 8, 1940 fay 5 0 gmane/whom Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE TRAFFIC SIGNAL James H. Parker, Jr., Blossvale, N. Y. Application August 8, 1940, Serial No.l 351,827

Claims. (Cl. 116,-63)

This invention relates to an improved traffic signal for controlling the movement of traino at the intersection of two highways or streets, and aims particularly to provide a traffic signal of simple construction for illuminating a visual stop and go indicator visible to ea'ch approach of the intersection.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a traffic signal having means for visually indicating the unexpired term of the visual signal to enable motorists approaching the intersection to accurately judge when the signals will be changed, v

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a traffic signal of the above described type wherein the pause between-the stop and go signals will be very brief thereby speeding up the movement of trafe at the intersection.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide means of simple construction capable of being readily adjusted for varying the term or period of time of the stop and go signals of two highways or streets so that where the signal is disposed at an intersection of a main highway and aside street, for example, the trafiic on the main highway may be given a longer go signal and a shorter stop signal, than traffic on the side street.

Other-objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings', which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation View signal,

f Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical central secof the trame tional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional viewy taken substantially along the plane of the line 3-3 of'Figure 2,

Figure 4is an enlarged vertical sectional view one of the gauge and comprising the invention, includesl a casing II, which is substantially rectangular in cross section and which is provided with the` tapered ends I2 and I3 forming the top and bottom, respectively, thereof.l The top and bottom I2 and I3, respectively, are provided with corresponding central openings I4. The opening I4 of the bottom I3 is closed by means of a plate I5 which is detachably mounted by means of the fastenings I6 and which is provided onv its upper or inner sidewlth a centrally disposed bearing I1, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described. A pair of crossarms are secured across the opening of the top I2 to form a lbracket I8 to which is secured a depending lamp socket I9 in which is mounted a lamp bulb20 which extends downwardly into the casing Illand which is adapted to be connected to a source of electric current, by wiring not shown. The opening I4 of the top I2 is adapted to `be covered by means of a hood 2| provided with an outwardly .opening vent 22 over which is disposed.y a .shield 23. The vent 22 provides `means for the escape of heat from the casing I0 created by the lamp bulb 20. The top I2 is preferably hingedly connected at 24 to themain portion of the casing I0 Ilo-,provide ready access to the interior thereof and may be provided with a latch of any conventional construction, not shown, for retaining the top I2 in a closed position, as illustrated in Figure 2. v A sleeve 25 is journaled at its lower end in the bearing II and extends upwardly therefrom and lis 4provided with a beveled gear 26 which meshes --With a beveled gear 21 keyed to the outer end of al driven shaft 28 of an electric motor 29 which is mounted in the lowerportion-of the casing II andwhich is likewise adapted tobe connected to a source of electric current by wiring, not

shown. A cylinder 30 is disposed in the casing I I and is provided with a bottom 3| to which is secured a centrally disposed depending shaft v32 which extends into ytheupper end of the sleeve 25 and `which is secured thereto by means of a substantially right angles to each other with said pair of openings 35 disposed above the level o f the openings 35a, The upper pair of openings 35 are provided with red lenses 36 and the lower openings 35a are provided with green lenses 31, said lenses being retained in said openings by means of brackets or clips 38. Referring to Fig-y ure y3, an opening 39 is disposed in horizontal alinement with and on. the corresponding side ,l

of each of the openings 35 andr35a, said openings 39 extendingV in a counter-clockwise direction from their adjacentl openings 35 or 35a and being each provided with an amber or yellow lens 40 similarly mounted by brackets 38.

The cyfl--M inder 30 is formed of an opaque materialsuch-Y as metal and extends to substantially the upper portion ofthe casing ll, so that the lavn'ipbulb4 Il l-yadjusting the shutters 44, for a purpose which is disposed therewithin in substantially the The edges 43 combine to forma plurality of spaced superimposed substantially continuous circles of substantially the same diameter within 7,

which the cylinder is mountedv to rotate.;y kvThe lenses. 36 and the lenses40ass`ociated therewith are positioned to move(` between the upper and the :lower vplates 42 of the upper openings 4l' and the :lenses 31. andthe lenses associated there.- with fare .similarly positioned to movev between the .upper-and 1owerplates42 of the-lower openL ings '4.la so that 'in each revolution of the cylinder 30 each, of the red lenses 36 and the upper amber lenses 40 will move .horizontally across veach of the Lupperopenings 4|r and` each,l ofthe. green lenses 3'1 iand the loweramber lenses '46 will similarly move across each `of the lower openings 4|a.

A shutter 44 is associated vwith the adjacent ends ofthe .upper andy lower sets of openings!!! a-nd 41a.. Each `of the shutters includes an arcuately. shaped. shield lhaving upwardly and downwardly extending protuberances 461erV slidably engagingtheadjacent sides of adjacent ends of the plates 42 -of the adjacent upper openings 4I i I .and-fthe adjacent lower openings 4|u. The shields 445 .are provided `with rearwardlyor. out,- Wardly projecting .ears 41, at the ends thereof., which are provided with apertures, not shown.

come apparent. It will be apparent that the shutters 44 may be moved relatively to the corners 55 to Vary the size of the openings 4I andl 4Ia with which said shutters are associated and when thus moved, in either direction, one of said openings will be elongated and the other of said openings, which is disposed at a right angle thereto, will be shortened to the same extent.

rThe upper side of the lower plates 42 of all of the openings I4, Ma are calibrated or marked, as -at 56, along the edges 48 thereof and adjacent the ends of said plates to provide means for uniform- 'will hereinafter be more fully explained.

'v 'rhe'trafc signal l0 is adapted to be mounted at the center of a two street intersection, in any suitable manner, not shown, with each of the sides ofthe casing ll facing toward an approach to the intersection. The motor 29 and lamp bulb 26 are energizedfor rotating and illuminating, respectively, the cylinder 36 which isadapted to be drivenby the`v motor 29 so lthat it will make a complete revolution every three minutes, fo'rer'e.

ample. The cylinder 30 turnsin a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3, and when' the illuminated red lenses 36 are visible through one pair of the upper openings 4| the green lenses 31, whichare likewise illuminated by the bulb- 20, will ,be visible .through'the pair of lower openings {llol` which yare at right angles to the aforementioned upper openings 4l. Sincethe cylin-v der 30 is constantly moving the vlenses 36 and 31 will be moving in a counter-clockwise direction 'from Aend toY end of the openings 4l and 4Ia, 4respectively, so1 that motorists approaching the intersection may readily judge ythe unexpired term of the stop and go signals, the red signals indi- `,eating stop. and the green'signalindicating go', as is. conventionalin traffic signals. The amber illuminated lensesv4 will be moving in'advance o f'thelensesf'and V31 so that while said last ymentioned lensesr'are still visible the lenses- 40 Qwill have moved behind the shields 45, and out A of viewindicating that then present signal is approaching thefend of its term. Due to the fact that the combined length ofthe lenses 36 and -31 and their associated -lenses 40 is greater than the v length of Athe shields 45 the ambersignals adjacent the greenlenses will begin to'appear in the ylower .openings 4| a of the same side on which the red lenses 36 are visible through the upper openings 4l.. It will therefore be' readily apparent Eachfof the shields 45 also includesapair of u flanges V43 formed of the arcuatelyshapedse :tier-.15.49 and i. YThe vside edges KAof. the sections 49 -areturned outwardly andback upon themselves to slidablyengage the sideredges oftheir .sections l5|lto form the eXtensible flanges 43, las bestseenin -Figure' 5. ,The freeends of the sections 50 `are "provided with perpendicular barrel .portions ,.5I., reach of whichis adaptedto .bedis- -posed between a pair ofthe ears [41 for receiving alpin 52 which projects through thealinedears land-barrel to thereby. pivotally connect each: of tleflanges '48 to anendof ftheshield 45. The freegends .ofthe flange sections'49 are provided .atx their u ppenand lower edges with the upthat the upper red lenses 36 land their associated amber lenses 4llwhen visible through two of 'the upperfopenings'M, which are in opposed relationship, will Visually indicate `a signal to stop to ,tralicmapproaching the intersection in opposite 1kdirections on one ofl the streets or highways.` At

, "the same `time the illuminated green lenses 31 will be visible in the lower -openings 4ta, which areat rightangles to the aforementioned upper openings 4I to indicate to operators ofrvehicles approaching the intersection along the other street or .highway that they may proceed through the intersection. As the stop and go Asignals 36 and 31, lrespectively, are constantly moving from y ,left to right of the openings in which they are wardly .,and. downwardly projecting studsjrB vwhichlare :loosely disposed in openings 54.0f the plates-42, and .adjacentfthe corners ,55 of the ,casing Il tofthereby .pivotally connect the anges .14,8 tothe casing il. The shields 45. are of slightly greaterylengthsthan thewidth of the vlenses`36 and 31, for a purpse'which will hereinafter'bevisible motorists approaching the intersectionor waiting at .the intersection for a change of'signal will be able to judge the unexpired period of the signal then being given and be prepared to stop Vvs rhenapproaching the intersection on a street or highway where a go signal is visible but apf preaching a point where it will be obscured be'- l:hin-d one ofthe shutters 44.r As a result, tra'ic will be able to stop in time before reaching the intersection to avoid entering the intersection after a go signal has been obscured andtranic waiting for a stop signal to change to go will be enabled to judge in advance approximately when the go signal will appear and be ready to move promptly. The shields 45 are of such a length that the amber signals 40 of the green signals 31 will be visible in the openings 4 la beneath which the red signals 36 are in view and in a like manner the amber signals 40 of the red signals 36 will be visible through the openings 4I above which the green signals are showing as the red and green signals approach the ends of their terms. The shields 45, as heretofore mentioned, are only slightly longer than the diameter of the lenses 36 and 31 to provide only a slight pause between the change signals, during which time all of the amber signals 40`will be in view to indicate that the change of singals is about to occur. This short pause is sufficient to clear the intersection of traffic due to the provision of means, as heretofore explained, for indicating to the operators of vehicles approaching the intersection the unexpired term of the signal then showing.

Under certain conditions, it is advantageous to provide means whereby one of the two intersecting streets or highways will be given a longer go signal and a shorter stop signal than the other, as for example, where one is a main street or highway used to a greater extent by traffic than the other street or highway. In Figure 3, the shutters 44 are set so that stop and go signals will al1 be visible on all sides of the casing ll for the same periods of time. The openings 4l and 4la may be varied in size by adjusting the shutters 44 to similarly restrict opposed lower openings 4| and opposed upper openings 4|. This adjustment will enlarge the other two upper openings 4I and lower openings 41a. to the same extent and by making this adjustment alternately between the upper and lower sets of openings 4I and 4Ia the go signals will be made longer and the stop signals shorter for one of the two streets or highways and varied conversely for the other street or highway. The calibrations 56 provide means for accurately adjusting the shutters 44 so that the red and green signals will appear and disappear simultaneously when the openings have been adjusted, as just previously explained.

The motor 29 is adapted to turn the shaft 28 one revolution per minute and the gear 26, in the embodiment of the invention as disclosed, is intended to be three times the diameter of the gearv 21 so that the cylinder 36 will make one revolution each three minutes so that the red and green signals 36 and 31 will be maintained between forty and forty-five seconds before disappearing. The shutters 44, in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated, may be adjusted so that the stop and go signals may be maintained for a period as long as approximately 54 seconds or as short as approximately 27 seconds, or in other words so that if desired, the go signal may be maintained in view for one highway substantially twice as long as for the other highway.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A traffic signal comprising a casing having openings inthe sides thereof, an opaque rotating member mounted in said casing, means for revolving said member at a uniform speed, said member being provided with a plurality of spaced colored transparent portions disposed to aline with certain of the openings of said casing during each revolution of said member, means for illuminating the interior of said member, and means for adjusting the size of the openings of said casing for varying the period that said transparent portions will be in communication therewith..

2. A traffic signal comprising a casing having an annular wall provided with circumferentially spaced openings, an opaque cylinder mounted to rotate in said casing, means for turning said cylinder at a uniform speed, said cylinder being provided with spaced colored transparent portions arranged to communicate with said openings during each rotation of the cylinder, said colored transparent portions each including sections of two colors circumferentially spaced relatively to each other, means for illuminating the interior of the cylinder, and said casing being provided with shutters adjustably mounted relatively to the openings thereof for varying the size of said openings.

3. A traflic signal comprising a casing, square shaped in cross section, each of the sides of the casing being provided with vertically spaced upper and lower openings, an opaque rotating cylinder mounted in the casing, said cylinder having circumferentially spaced colored translucent portions arranged in pairs, the translucent portions of each of said pairs being in substantially diametrically opposed relationship, and the pairs of translucent portions being substantially at right angles to one another with one of the pairs of translucent portions disposed below the level of the other, the translucent portions of one of said pairs being positioned to communicate with each of the upper openings of the casing during each revolution of the cylinder and the translucent portions of the other pair being similarly positioned in relationship to the lower openings of the sides of the casing, the pairs of translucent portions being distinctively colored, means for illuminating the interior of the cylinder, and shutters pivotally and slidably mounted relatively to the casing for varying the size of the openings thereof.

4. A traffic signal comprising a casing, square shaped in cross section, each of the sides of the casing being provided with vertically spaced upper and loweiopenings, an opaque rotating cylinder mounted in the casing, said cylinder having circumferentially spaced colored translucent portions arranged in pairs, the translucent portions of each of said pairs being in substantially diametrically opposed relationship, and the pairs of translucent portions being substantially at right angles to one another with one of the pairs 0f translucent portions disposed below the level of the other, the translucent portions of one of said pairs being positioned to communicate with each of the upper openings of the casing during each revolution of the cylinder and the translucent portions of the other pair being similarly positioned in relationship to the lower openings of the sides of the casing, the pairs of translucent portions being distinctively colored, means for illuminating the interior of the cylinder, and shutters pivotally and slidably mounted relatively to the casing for varying the size of the openings thereof, and gauge means associated with said openings and over which said shutters are disposed for properly positioning the differvent shutters relatively to the differentopenings 5. Atrafc signalcornprisinga casingsquare y shaped in ,cross section, each of the sides of the rcasing being provided With verticallyvspaced up,-

perand lower openings, an opaque rotating cylinder mounted in the casing, said cylinder having circumferentially spaced colored translucent portions `arrangedin pairs, the translucent portions of each of said pairs being in substantially diametrically opposed relationship, and the pairs of translucent portions being substantially at right angles to one another with'one of the pairs of translucent portions disposed below the level of the other, the translucent portions of one of said pairs being positioned to communicate 'With A eachof the upper Vopenings of the casing during each revolution of the cylinder and the translucent vportions of A the other pair being similarly positioned relationship. .to the lower openings vends to the casing whereby a Variation in the positioning of any one,y of thejshutters'by movement VVof the shield section Willproportionally increase and decrease the size ofi the twoopeninhgs ,with which the shutter is associated.

JAMES Hg PARKER, JR. 

